Fire. Fire. Fire.

The fleeting nature of time is a subject that has fascinated philosophers, poets and thinkers throughout history. Since the time of Heraclitus, who claimed that “everything flows”, to the depth of Plato’s thought and the melancholic anguish of existence portrayed by Kierkegaard, the ephemeral nature of time has been the object of critical and emotional contemplation.

In our daily life, time is presented as a river that advances inexorably, taking with it moments and experiences. The transience of time can generate within us a sense of urgency, an almost visceral desire to apprehend every moment, to live intensely. However, this search is often tinged with a deep anxiety about loss; the fear that the moments we value will slip through our fingers without having the opportunity to enjoy them fully. In Stoicism, for example, we are taught to accept impermanence and to focus on what remains within our power, on how we choose to live our days. Time, then, becomes a teacher and a reminder that every moment is a unique opportunity that deserves to be contemplated and valued.

On the other hand, the fleeting nature of time also invites us to reflect on memory and the construction of meaning. What we live is not simply a compendium of scattered moments, but a narrative that we shape through reflection and emotional connection. This subjectivity of time leads us to understand that, although seconds and minutes are rigid in their passing, our experience of them can be rich and profound. In the end, the fleeting nature of time reminds us of the importance of mindfulness. In a world that tends to be populated with distractions, the challenge is to learn to be present, to savour the now. While we cannot stop the flow of time, we can choose how we relate to it. Perhaps the paradox of transience does not lie in loss, but in the gift of consciousness: each moment, because of its brevity, has the potential to be a treasure that, when appreciated, becomes eternity. And it is that moment, made eternal, that indelibly marks Pamen Pereira’s already extensive career from her beginnings as an artist, as we can see throughout her artistic production and in the works that shape her exhibition at Galería Artizar.

José Luis Pérez Pont